Measuring Sustainability - materials
Life Cycle Assessment
A life cycle analysis and assessment (also known as life cycle
analysis, life cycle inventory, cradle-to-gate/grave-analysis and
material flow analysis) is the assessment of the environmental
impact of a given product or service throughout its lifespan. LCA
is the principle that underlies the Building Research
Establishment's (BRE)
Environmental
Profiles, which then feeds into the
Green Guide
to Specification and the
Green Guide
to Housing Specification.
The goal of LCA is to compare the environmental performance of
products and services, to be able to choose the least burdening
one. The term 'life cycle' refers to the notion that a fair,
holistic assessment requires the assessment of raw material
production, manufacture, distribution, use and disposal including
all intervening transportation steps. This is the life cycle of the
product.
The procedures of life cycle analysis are part of the ISO
14000 environmental management.
Cradle-to-grave is an LCA of the materials
used in making a product, from the extraction of materials and
energy to the return of the materials to earth when the product is
finally discarded.
Cradle-to-gate is the LCA of the efficiency
of a product or service until it is produced or delivered. It shows
the environmental performance as it is in its manufactured state.
It is often used for environmental product declarations
(EPD).
Gate-to-gate is an LCA carried out for a
manufacturing process. Some companies use it to calculate the
burden to the environment that their particular step in the supply
chain has.
Cradle-to-cradle is a way of thinking about
life cycles. If the grave of one cycle can be the cradle of its own
or another, the life cycles are called cradle-to-cradle.